The Rings of Power clears up Adar’s mystery, but confuses The Lord of the Rings
“Udûn” is The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’s first full-fledged battle episode, and fans of the Prime Video series certainly get their money’s worth in terms of sheer blockbuster spectacle. Yet for all the toppled towers and climactic cavalry charges, the episode’s most memorable scene is also one of its least bombastic: the quiet conversation between Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) and Adar (Joseph Mawle). More than anything else that happens in “Udûn,” this largely action-free encounter dramatically alters the status quo of The Rings of Powergoing forward — although whether it does so for the better or the worse is tough to call.
The set-pieces in The Rings of Powerepisode 6 are suitably impressive. We’re treated to everything from gnarly close-quarters combat to an apocalyptic volcano eruption, with several characters aside from Galadriel given the chance to shine. And if the odd blemish (like unconvincing CGI and pedestrian staging and choreography) occasionally exposes the limits of the show’s infamously large budget, most viewers will be too caught up in the epic sweep of it all to notice, much less care.
But, honestly, the most jaw-dropping popcorn moments in “Udûn” — yes, even that unexpected (and from where I’m sitting, unnecessary) revised origin story for Mount Doom — have nothing on the metaphorical fireworks of Galadriel and Adar’s little tête-à-tête. Not only does this scene finally confirm once and for all that Adar isn’t Sauron, but it also establishes that he’s a proto-orc who turned on his former master. Heck, Adar even claims he’s the guy responsible for Sauron’s current MIA status, having snapped after the dark lord conducted one too many experiments on his orc underlings.
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